Research Medical Center—part of HCA Midwest Health, Kansas City’s leading healthcare provider—announced that it is the recipient of an HCA Award of Distinction for Rapid Care Path, a specially designed service to provide patients with high-quality, ER-level care for treatment of minor illnesses and injuries.

“The entire Research Medical Center executive leadership team recognizes the hard work and commitment that went into the conception, design and implementation of Rapid Care Path Emergency Services,” says Research Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Jackie DeSouza-Van Blaricum. “The results of the team’s devoted efforts, spearheaded by Research Medical Center Director of ER Robyn Miller, RN, MSN and Medical Director of ER Jason Eppler, M.D., were driven by our mission to the care and improvement of human life. This award is a well-deserved recognition of employees in action to improve the patient experience.”

With Rapid Care Path, patients are greeted immediately and assessed within minutes of arrival at Research Medical Center’s Emergency Room and, during the registration and evaluation process, a medical expert determines if the patient is a candidate. If the illness or injury is not life threatening—like cold symptoms, sore throat, insect bites and stings, allergic reactions, rashes, suture removal, lacerations and ear complaints, among others—the patient qualifies for Rapid Care Path and is escorted directly to a new private treatment room.

According to Research Medical Center Emergency Room Medical Director Jason Eppler, M.D., Rapid Care Path is an inventive approach to ER treatment that allows other ER professionals to focus on high-acuity patients like trauma, stroke, burn, heart attack and others. Most Rapid Care Path patients are cared for and dismissed within 60 minutes of arrival.

“Rapid Care Path helps ensure that patients visiting our ER receive the appropriate, high-quality care for their treatment or illness,” Dr. Eppler says. “Because a patient’s care path is determined according to their unique situation, they and their loved ones are more satisfied knowing what treatment to expect next.”

In Jan. 2017, Becker’s Hospital Review named Research Medical Center as one of 59 hospitals across the country where patients spend an average of four minutes or less in the emergency room before being seen by a healthcare professional, according to CMS’ Hospital Compare database. The national average door-to-diagnostic evaluation time is 22 minutes. Research Medical Center is also among top-performing hospitals in the nation for stroke and heart care, with 39-minute average door-to-needle stroke reversal medicine time, faster than the national average of 60 minutes. Cardiac patients at Research Medical Center’s Emergency Room are evaluated and prepped within the national standard of 90 minutes.

For more information about Research Medical Center and its full spectrum of services, including award-winning Emergency Care, visit http://researchmedicalcenter.com.